All change... just why Scarlets could get the best out of new signing Halfpenny
LEIGH Halfpenny’s move to the Scarlets has certainly got the fans excited down west as they welcome the 28-year-old to Parc y Scarlets.
And the rest of Wales should have been excited as coach Wayne Pivac revealed that the reason behind Halfpenny joining was to improve his attacking game.
It’s fair to say that the full-back’s game with ball-in-hand has stalled somewhat in the last few years – but just why is that and how can he improve at the Scarlets?
We look at how Halfpenny’s game has changed since shifting from wing to 15 and what plying his trade in Llanelli could do for him. How did Halfpenny used to attack? When Leigh Halfpenny first broke onto the international scene in the 2008 autumn internationals, it was as a 19-year-old wiry winger who quickly displaced Grand Slam winner Mark Jones in Warren Gatland’s squad.
His debut against Canada saw him bag a brace of tries with his elusive running evident on the way to his first score – which is easily found on YouTube.
The way he received the ball, proceded to cut in towards the opposite wingers inside shoulder to draw in the full-back before shifting direction once again to beat his opposite number on the outside to touhc down for his first international score – all done at sprint speed without slowing down once – was an indication of the raw attacking prowess the young Halfpenny possessed.
He was also producing such magic moments on the domestic stage – with his work to finish off the astonishing team try in the Cardiff Blues’ 50-12 romp against Gloucester in the 2009 EDF Energy Cup Final - his first of two tries that day – another example of his rugby intelligence and finishing ability. When did he switch from wing to full-back? Having lost his starting place in the Wales team by the 2011 World Cup following the emergence of George North, Halfpenny earned an unlikely chance at full-back when he was called upon to replace the injured James Hook at half-time of Wales’ must-win pool match against Samoa.
And Halfpenny took the chance with both hands – setting up Shane Williams’ match-winning try as he returned a Samoan high-ball with interest after riding the initial tackles. What has changed then? Since that match, Halfpenny has firmly been Wales’ first-choice full-back, evolving into the role from the wiry, elusive winger that burst onto the scene in 2008 to a more pragmatic, safety-first full-back borne out of Gatland’s gameplan.
He is courageous across the field, reads the game well and is solid under the high-ball – but there has been question marks over his attacking game since the switch.
Following the change, he’s bulked up considerably – such is the modern game – and has perhaps lost some of the zip in his side-step.
Gone is the fluid movement, replaced by a stuttering step that screams indecision.
His knee injury suffered in the 2015 World Cup warm-up match against Italy probably plays some part in this change – having come back from a ruptered anterior cruciate ligament and the surgery that follows it is certainly commendable – but that does not answer all the questions surrounding his bluntness in attack. How does he attack now? Honestly, somewhat less. A Halfpenny highlight reel early on in his career would see a young lad unafraid of taking risks and pinning his ears back.
In the last five years however, Halfpenny has eradicated any unpredictability from his game – with his attitude to the game similar to what Jim Telfer was thinking of when he delivered his famous ‘honest player’ speech on the 1997 British Lions tour.
He has worked hard to become the player Wales, and Gatland, can rely on – but perhaps at the hindrance of his creativity.
The sight of Halfpenny running straight into the first tackler or launching an up-and-under long before even assessing his options is a familiar one for Wales fans.
So often, it is a case of decision made early and then head down and plough on – even if a gap or opportunity may spring up.
You may think I’m being a bit harsh here – and maybe I am – but Liam Williams, among others, takes the time to weigh up his options and is not afraid of changing his mind on the fly, something encouraged by Halfpenny’s new region, the Scarlets.
Former Wales full-back Lee Byrne, a man not adverse to taking risks from the back, said about Halfpenny: “At full-back he has too much time to think, on the wing he hasn’t got that time and he just pins his ears back.”
At times, he seems burdened by the responsibility of playing 15 and, with the disadvantage of more time to think, seemingly talks himself out of taking risks.
Arguably the most instinctive match, or part of a match, we have seen him play for Wales was when deployed on the wing against Japan last autumn.
Given less time to think, he instinctively looked to step his way out of trouble and past defenders, adjusting his plans while moving. What do the statistics say? The numbers hardly paint a flattering picture of Halfpenny as an attacking full-back – having not touched down for Wales since 2013.
In fact, he has just four tries in 47 starts at 15 for the national side, which is in stark comparison to the 11 tries he scored in his first 11 starts for Wales on the wing. So, has he lost it? Of course not. As Scarlets coach, Wayne Pivac said, it is just a product of the teams he has been playing in – he was after all shifted to full-back by Wales.
Neither Wales or Toulon have utilised the full-back as they could have – but he has showed he can add to the team from full-back when given the chance.
The British and Irish Lions tour to Australia in 2013 saw Halfpenny thrive at 15 – with the Gorsienon product running a clever line to get back inside the covering defence and set up Johnny Sexton’s try in the final Test.
One of the biggest criticisms of Halfpenny is that he hasn’t looked a natural full-back, in an attacking sense at least, but the way he came into the line evoked memories of predecessor Byrne at his best.
This year’s Six Nations clash with Ireland was another example of his strong support work from 15.
Having been chastised the week before for failing to follow up on a Davies’ break in a key period of the match at Murrayfield, Halfpenny showed better anticipation to latch onto Rhys Webb’s looped pass at full speed before releasing North outside to score. What do the Scarlets do? Towards the end of last season, Kiwi import Johnny McNicholl usurped out-going Liam Williams as starting full-back at Parc y Scarlets. There is a school of thought that Williams sometimes dies on the ball, which not McNicholl’s way.
The former Crusader was key to starting a number of the Scarlets’ counter-attacks with his vision and ambition to run the ball out vital to how they play the game.
McNicholl has a knack of hitting his straps early – meaning that defenders have to stay on their toes rather than just line him up.
He has a tendency to drift across the line – drawing more defenders onto himself and opening space up for others outside. He also recognises when there is a gap to be attacked and when the ball needs to be shifted out early.
These are all things that Halfpenny is capable of – his early days in rugby clearly show that. The challenge now is getting the shackles off him and encouraging him to play as he used to.
And if anyone is capable of doing that, it’s Pivac, Stephen Jones and the Scarlets.